But soldiers from Genoa caught Marco and put him in prison.
Marco then sent a message to his father in Venice. He asked for some books to write notes in and these soon arrived. One of the other prisoners in Genoa was a man called Rustichello of Pisa. He was a writer and a teller of exciting stories.
During their long hours in prison, Marco told Rustichello about his journey to China and Rustichello noted it all down in French. But he did not only write down Marco's words, he put in one or two of his own ideas too! So some people think that some pieces in the middle of Marco's careful descriptions are by Rustichello.